Egypt should free blogger held beyond his term

New York, November 10, 2010--Egyptian authorities must immediately release blogger Abdel Karim Suleiman, known online as Karim Amer, who completed his four-year prison sentence on November 5, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. CPJ also calls on authorities to investigate and punish a security officer who reportedly assaulted Amer on Tuesday.

The government's continued imprisonment of Amer reflects
its overall abusive treatment of the blogger, who was subjected to repeated
instances of harassment and abuse during his detention. Authorities moved Amer
last week from Borg al-Arab Prison outside Alexandria to a State Security Investigations
facility in the city, where he was to undergo release procedures. The agency
has continued to detain Amer without explanation, and he was beaten by a security
officer, his lawyer, Rawda Ahmad, told CPJ.

"There is no legal basis for Amer's detention beyond
his court-imposed sentence," said Mohamed Abdel Dayem, CPJ's Middle East and
North Africa program coordinator. "It's alarming that a law enforcement officer
would feel he could attack someone with impunity. The assault should be
investigated, and charges should be brought against the officer."

Arrested on November 6, 2006, Amer was convicted by
an Alexandria court on charges of insulting Islam and President Hosni Mubarak. A
student at Cairo's Al-Azhar University, Amer was expelled in 2006 because he
frequently criticized the state-run religious university, which he accused of
promoting extremist ideas, and Mubarak, whom he referred to as a dictator.

Amer was the first blogger in Egypt to be convicted
explicitly for his work, CPJ research shows. In 2007, inmates severely beat Amer
on the orders of prison officials, CPJ research shows. In April, security
officers confiscated Suleiman's notebooks and letters of support that he
receives.